Youngstown Bishop George V. Murry was scheduled to travel to Louisiana on Wednesday, July 29 to bless residents as they moved into their homes in New Orleans. In addition, two arch bishops and three cardinals were expected to meet and greet residents and the Mahoning Valley volunteers who have been assisting in the rebuilding of storm-ravaged New Orleans. What follows is an account of the June 2009 trip by the Youngstown volunteer group that has made numerous trips to New Orleans.
By William S. Peyko
Special to the Metro Monthly
Our group met on Father’s Day to embark on the latest work trip to New Orleans. We met at the Pilot service center in Niles and although there was a power outage, that didn’t delay us. While there, I was introduced to some of the adults from St. Pius who would be going on the trip this time. A member of this group, Deacon Bob Mintus, was a classmate of my son, Eric, so we discussed him for a few minutes, and then boarded the vehicles that would take us to New Orleans and back.
We had three vans and one automobile. I was assigned to van number two, which was occupied by six students, two adults and myself. They were all strangers to me. Being the shy person that I am, I read a paperback book for most of the trip down to Louisiana. Brian Cline, our driver and a spiritual leader from St. Pius, had the students from the other vans switch vehicles, hoping they would get to know each other on the long trip. Although some students objected, it was done with a no-nonsense approach.
As we continued on our journey, I had a limited conversation with a young woman named Stephanie, and a young man named Kyle. I had the feeling that they both thought I was from another planet, so I continued reading until we arrived in Franklin, Tenn.
The motel where we were to stay had fouled up our reservations and it took about an hour to straighten things out. I was to bunk with Joe Fraser, who has traveled down to New Orleans for numerous work trips. The group then went to CiCi’s Pizza for dinner, but I went to the Cracker Barrel. As my co-workers know from previous trips, eating at CiCi’s Pizza is not my bag.
MONDAY, JUNE 22 – We had breakfast and left at about 8:30 a.m. I was now in the van with Bob Mintus and his co-pilot and wife, Rita. We made frequent stops and arrived in New Orleans at about 6 p.m. We checked in at St. Jude’s, our place to stay, then staked out our bunks and went to the Marionite Sisters Convent.
The sisters talked to our group and thanked us for helping restore homes in New Orleans. We ate hot dogs, beans and veggies. There were about 50 people at this affair – 90 percent of them were young adults. Joe Fraser, Joe Baker (from Youngstown) and I were told we could stay at the convent. I am sure I was asked to stay to make sure the two of them would behave properly.
After a bit, our group went for a ferry ride. It was quite impressive to see New Orleans all lit up while we took the ride. When it was over, we parted company for the night.
TUESDAY, JUNE 23 – Our group consisted of Our Lady of Sorrows from East Palestine, St. Joseph’s in Alliance, and St. Pius in Warren. Another group had arrived at St. Jude’s but they disappeared. We ate breakfast at Our Lady of Guadalupe with Rev. Tony Baliwick, a very knowledgeable and kind priest. About 50 people were in the group. After breakfast, a caravan of three vans and a car arrived at 808 in St. Matthew’s Parish, and various chores were undertaken. The fences were being spray washed in preparation for painting. Workers were sanding sheds to prepare them for painting and dirt was removed from the former pool area.
In the house, the crew prepared the walls and ceiling with joint compound, or, as we say in the trade, mudding. All corners had mud and paper applied to seal them.
The lath screws were checked and screwed in flush to make it easy to apply the mud. In between all of this activity, we removed tiling on Tuesday and Wednesday. Involved with me on this project were Laurie, Larry and George and the “Poosh” Brigade consisting of Christina, Katie, Rachael, Kyle, Andrew, Stephanie, Nathan and the Veggie guy.
We developed a system whereby two people alternated on the blow torch, and two people would “poosh” the heated tile so it could be removed by hand. We had to work around the people who were working on the walls and ceiling. We wrapped it up for the day.
In the afternoon, Brian was taken to the hospital for heat-related problems – it was a killer day heat-wise, about 104 degrees; I heard it was 107. That night we went to Miss Lydia’s (a New Orleans resident) for dinner – 50 or so workers attended. We had rice and red beans as well as chicken wings and dessert. Lydia prepared all this food (with the help of Veronica Pitzullo) while her daughter was in the hospital recovering from kidney and pancreas transplants.
The most outstanding part of the evening was Lydia’s second interview with a freelance reporter from California. Rev. Ed Brienz started with an overview about what his ministry is about – to rebuild New Orleans one house at a time. Then it was Miss Lydia’s turn to speak, and she had all of the volunteers in the palm of her hand. She told us of her journey through from Hurricane Katrina to the present time, and the loss of her husband. Her therapy was the dedication of all the people she met – young and old. Strangers who helped her weren’t strangers for very long.
Feeding and opening her home was not payback time, but an acknowledgement of what these strangers’ kindness meant to her. Later the reporter wanted to know if I was the journalist. I said no, the journalist is my son; I am just a volunteer.
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24 – We got our “Poosh” group together and continued working on the tile – it took us the greater part of the morning – we took frequent breaks for water. One girl, Codi, was not so fortunate. She succumbed to the heat. 9-1-1 was called and she went to the hospital. Her mom, Donna, accompanied her. Heat and lingering flu symptoms were probable contributing factors.
All worked in the sun was suspended, the students cleaned up, ate and left for the day. Some of us continued mudding, patching, sanding and sweeping up the rooms. Kelly and Brittany, the daughters of Lisa (the homeowner), have been on the job daily working alongside the volunteers. In addition, they proceeded to bug me and drive me up a wall.
Boss John Pitzullo insisted we go home at 2 p.m. He and Veronica stayed and continued working. I hope they don’t wear themselves out. The heat is unbearably hot and unusual, according to Miss Lydia.
We went to Our Lady of Guadalupe to see a slide show comparing the Katrina victims’ suffering to that of the Blessed Virgin’s suffering – quite interesting, although some of the students nodded off. Tonight we were the guests of Robert and Jenny Bigelow for a real Southern dinner. Jenny said she had bought food for those who didn’t want Southern Soup or Shrimp Rice; they had burgers, dogs and even veggie burgers. All was really top shelf.
They served about 50 people. Robert told the crowd the reason they were doing this was that strangers helped them in their hour of need, and it seemed like the right thing to do.
THURSDAY, JUNE 25 – On the job at 7:30 a.m. or so. Some of the girls didn’t make it, as the weather had gotten to them. The rest of the group painted, cleaned up outside, and stacked piles of bricks for future use. We hauled away parts of the swimming pool and power washed the fence. Others worked in the house sanding and preparing the walls and ceilings for texturizing.
I asked about painting the fence, and was told to do so. But I started some of the “Poosh” group with oil-based paint and was told to stop because we supposed to use a weatherproof paint. We had to remove the oil-based paint with a power washer. Since I goofed up, I figured I should be the one removing the paint and getting wet. Donna helped me, as well as Rachael, Christina and Katie.
John Pitzullo, John Zubil (the lath man) and Veronica kept working to prepare the home for texturizing. In addition, many in the group kept mudding. Nancy and Judy painted the columns. Rachael, Katie and Christina had shown up in the morning with their shirts stenciled with “Poosh” and Biff. I was flattered by all the attention they paid to me and told them some corny jokes that they ate up.
All the groups left around noon, but John Pitzullo, Joe Baker, Veronica and I remained. Joe and I power washed all the equipment. John Pitzullo and Glenn (from the convent) did texturizing throughout the house. We left about 3 p.m. Phase three will involve painting the interior, installing doors and frames, electrical and plumbing and outdoor work. The home should be ready for occupancy on Aug. 1.
We met tonight for dinner. Rev. Ed reluctantly told his bell ringer joke which gets longer and longer. Sister Beth spoke and thanked John Pitzullo and Rev. Ed for their dedication to this project. Lisa and her daughters said a few words. We partied a little bit more and did some shopping before we went our separate ways.
FRIDAY, JUNE 26 – We left New Orleans at about 8 a.m. and went to Shoney’s for breakfast. I rode with Donna, John and Codi Zubil. We arrived in Franklin. Tenn. and the group went to eat. The young adults swam in the pool, and others hit the sack. The Zubils and I parted company, as they were going to tour some historic sites, and I ended up riding back with the group from East Palestine.
While in Kentucky, someone wanted to stop at a Corvair factory, but Joe reluctantly said no as we had a schedule to keep. We stopped at Wendy’s and ate. We parted company with the group from Alliance. Every time I turned around, I would bump into a smiling Megan from St. Pius. Was she assigned to keep an eye on me? Next, we said farewell to the St. Pius group. Finally, we arrive in East Palestine and were greeted by various family members. I took a picture of the group – to remember – how could I ever forget them?!
From there, we headed to Barnes and Noble in Boardman, where my number two son was having a signing for his book “Remembering Youngstown.” My daughter Marshawn was there to take part in the signing and to drive me home. What an end to a perfect week!
In conclusion, every time I come back from New Orleans I say “It’s probably my last time!” – yet something draws me back time and time again. Could it be that I want to hear Father Ed’s bell ringer story in a New Orleans setting again?
